Shear thickening fluid based object movement control method and mechanism

ABSTRACT

A head unit system for controlling motion of an object includes a secondary object sensor, shear thickening fluid (STF), and a chamber configured to contain a portion of the STF. The chamber further includes a front channel and a back channel. The head unit system further includes a piston housed at least partially radially within the piston compartment and separating the back channel and the front channel. The piston includes a first piston bypass and a second piston bypasses to control flow of the STF between opposite sides of the piston. The chamber further includes a set of fluid flow sensors and a set of fluid manipulation emitters to control the flow of the STF to cause selection of one of a variety of shear rates for the STF within the chamber.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present U.S. Utility Patent Application claims priority pursuant to35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/273,230,entitled “SHEAR THICKENING FLUID BASED OBJECT MOVEMENT CONTROLMECHANISM”, filed Oct. 29, 2021, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety and made part of the present U.S. UtilityPatent Application for all purposes.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Technical Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to systems that measure and controlmechanical movement and more particularly to sensing and controlling ofa linear and/or rotary movement mechanism that includes a chamber withdilatant fluid (e.g., a shear thickening fluid).

Description of Related Art

Many mechanical mechanisms are subject to undesired movement that canlead to annoying sounds, property damage and/or loss, and personalinjury and even death. Desired and undesired movements of the mechanicalmechanisms may involve a wide range of forces. A need exists to controlthe wide range of forces to solve these problems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1A is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a mechanicaland computing system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a graph of viscosity vs. shear rate for an aspect of anembodiment of a mechanical and computing system in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 1C is a graph of plunger velocity vs. force applied to the plungerfor an aspect of an embodiment of a mechanical and computing system inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computingentity of a computing system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computingdevice of a computing system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of a computingdevice of a computing system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of an environmentsensor module of a computing system in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIGS. 5A-5B are schematic block diagrams of another embodiment of amechanical and computing system illustrating an example of controllingoperational aspects in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 6A-6B are schematic block diagrams of another embodiment of amechanical and computing system illustrating an example of controllingoperational aspects in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 7A-7B are schematic block diagrams of another embodiment of amechanical and computing system illustrating an example of controllingoperational aspects in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 8A-8B are schematic block diagrams of another embodiment of amechanical and computing system illustrating an example of controllingoperational aspects in accordance with the present invention; and

FIGS. 9A-9B are schematic block diagrams of another embodiment of amechanical and computing system illustrating an example of controllingoperational aspects in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1A is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a mechanicaland computing system that includes a set of head units 10-1 through10-N, objects 12-1 through 12-3, computing entities 20-1 through 20-Nassociated with the head units 10-1 through 10-N, and a computing entity22. The objects include any object that has mass and moves. Examples ofan object include a door, an aircraft wing, a portion of a buildingsupport mechanism, and a particular drivetrain, etc.

The cross-sectional view of FIG. 1A illustrates a head unit thatincludes a chamber 16, a piston 36, a plunger 28, a plunger bushing 32,and a chamber bypass 40. The chamber 16 contains a shear thickeningfluid (STF) 42. The chamber 16 includes a back channel 24 and a frontchannel 26, where the piston partitions the back channel 24 and thefront channel 26. The piston 36 travels axially within the chamber 16.The chamber 16 may be a cylinder or any other shape that enablesmovement of the piston 36 and compression of the STF 42. The STF 42 isdiscussed in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 1B and 1C.

The plunger bushing 32 guides the plunger 28 into the chamber 16 inresponse to force from the object 12-1. The plunger bushing 32facilitates containment of the STF within the chamber 16. The plungerbushing 32 remains in a fixed position relative to the chamber 16 whenthe force from the object moves the piston 36 within the chamber 16. Inan embodiment the plunger bushing 32 includes an O-ring between theplunger bushing 32 and the chamber 16. In another embodiment the plungerbushing 32 includes an O-ring between the plunger bushing 32 and theplunger 28.

The piston 36 includes a piston bypass 38 between opposite sides of thepiston to facilitate flow of a portion the STF between the oppositesides of the piston (e.g., between the back channel 24 and the frontchannel 26) when the piston travels through the chamber in an inward oran outward direction.

Alternatively, or in addition to, the chamber bypass 40 is configuredbetween opposite ends of the chamber 16, wherein the chamber bypass 40facilitates flow of a portion of the STF between the opposite ends ofthe chamber when the piston travels through the chamber in the inward oroutward direction (e.g., between the back channel 24 and the frontchannel 26).

In alternative embodiments, the piston bypass 38 and the chamber bypass40 includes mechanisms to enable STF flow in one direction and not anopposite direction. In further alternative embodiments, a control valvewithin the piston bypass 38 and/or the chamber bypass 40 controls theSTF flow between the back channel 24 and the front channel 26. Eachbypass includes one or more of a one-way check valve and a variable flowvalve.

The plunger 28 is operably coupled to a corresponding object by one of avariety of approaches. A first approach includes a direct connection ofthe plunger 28 to the object 12-1 such that linear motion in anydirection couples from the object 12-1 to the plunger 28. A secondapproach includes the plunger 28 coupled to a cap 44 which receives aone way force from a strike 48 attached to the object 12-2. A thirdapproach includes a pushcap 46 that receives a force from arotary-to-linear motion conversion component that is attached to theobject 12-3. In an example, the object 12-3 is connected to a camshaft110 which turns a cam 109 to strike the pushcap 46.

In an embodiment, two or more of the head units are coupled by a headunit connector 112. When so connected, actuation of a piston in a firsthead unit is essentially replicated in a piston of a second head unit.The head unit connector 112 includes a mechanical element betweenplungers of the two or more head units and/or direct connection of twoor more plungers to a common object. For example, plunger 28 of headunit 10-1 and plunger 28 of head unit 10-2 are directly connected toobject 12-1 when utilizing a direct connection.

Further associated with each head unit is a set of emitters and a set ofsensors. For example, head unit 10-N includes a set of emitters 114-N-1through 114-N-M and a set of sensors 116-N-1 through 116-N-M. Emittersincludes any type of energy and or field emitting device to affect theSTF, either directly or indirectly via other nanoparticles suspended inthe STF. Examples of emitter categories include light, audio, electricfield, magnetic field, wireless field, etc. Specific examples of fluidmanipulation emitters include a variable flow valve associated with abypass or injector or similar, a mechanical vibration generator, animage generator, a light emitter, an audio transducer, a speaker, anultrasonic sound transducer, an electric field generator, a magneticfield generator, and a radio frequency wireless field transmitter.Specific examples of magnetic field emitters include a Helmholtz coil, aMaxwell coil, a permanent magnet, a solenoid, a superconductingelectromagnet, and a radio frequency transmitting coil.

Sensors include any type of energy and/or field sensing device to outputa signal that represents a reaction, motion or position of the STF.Examples of sensor categories include bypass valve position, mechanicalposition, image, light, audio, electric field, magnetic field, wirelessfield, etc. Specific examples of fluid flow sensors include a valveopening detector associated with the chamber 16 or any type of bypass(e.g., piston bypass 38, chamber bypass 40, a reservoir injector, orsimilar), a mechanical position sensor, an image sensor, a light sensor,an audio sensor, a microphone, an ultrasonic sound sensor, an electricfield sensor, a magnetic field sensor, and a radio frequency wirelessfield sensor. Specific examples of magnetic field sensors include a Halleffect sensor, a magnetic coil, a rotating coil magnetometer, aninductive pickup coil, an optical magnetometry sensor, a nuclearmagnetic resonance sensor, and a caesium vapor magnetometer.

The computing entities 20-1 through 20-N are discussed in detail withreference to FIG. 2A. The computing entity 22 includes a control module30 and a chamber database 34 to facilitate storage of history ofoperation, desired operations, and other aspects of the system.

In an example of operation, the head unit 10-1 controls motion of theobject 12-1 and includes the chamber 16 filled at least in part with theshear thickening fluid 42, the piston 36 housed at least partiallyradially within the chamber 16, and the piston 36 is configured to exertpressure against the shear thickening fluid 42 in response to movementof the piston 36 from a force applied to the piston from the object12-1. The movement of the piston 36 includes one of traveling throughthe chamber 16 in an inward direction or traveling through the chamber16 in an outward direction. The STF is configured to have a decreasingviscosity in response to a first range of shear rates and an increasingviscosity in response to a second range of shear rates.

The shear thickening fluid 42 (e.g., dilatant non-Newtonian fluid) hasnanoparticles of a specific dimension that are mixed in a carrier fluidor solvent. Force applied to the shear thickening fluid 42 results inthese nanoparticles stacking up, thus stiffening and acting more like asolid than a flowable liquid when a shear threshold is reached. Inparticular, viscosity of the shear thickening fluid 42 risessignificantly when shear rate is increased to a point of the shearthreshold. The relationship between viscosity and shear rates isdiscussed in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B.

In another example of operation, the object 12-1 applies an inwardmotion force on the plunger 28 which moves the piston 36 in words withinthe chamber 16. As the piston moves inward, shear rate of the shearthickening fluid 42 changes. A sensor 116-1-1 associated with thechamber 16 of the head unit 10-1 outputs chamber I/O 160 to thecomputing entity 20-1, where the chamber I/O 160 includes a movementdata associated with the STF 42 as a result of the piston 36 movinginwards. Having received the chamber I/O 160, the computing entity 20-1interprets the chamber I/O 160 to reproduce the movement data.

The computing entity 20-1 outputs the movement data as a system message162 to the computing entity 22. The control module 30 stores themovement data in the chamber database 34 and interprets the movementdata to determine whether to dynamically adjust the viscosity of theshear thickening fluid. Dynamic adjustment of the viscosity results indynamic control of the movement of the piston 36, the plunger 28, andultimately the object 12-1. Adjustment of the viscosity affectsvelocity, acceleration, and position of the piston 36.

The control module 30 determines whether to adjust the viscosity basedon one or more desired controls of the object 12-1. The desired controlsinclude accelerating, deaccelerating, abruptly stopping, continuing on acurrent trajectory, continuing at a constant velocity, or any othermovement control. For example, the control module 30 determines toabruptly stop the movement of the object 12-1 when the object 12-1 is adoor and the door is detected to be closing at a rate above a maximumclosing rate threshold level and when the expected shear rate versusviscosity of the shear thickening fluid 42 requires modification (e.g.,boost the viscosity now to slow the door from closing too quickly).

When determining to modify the viscosity, the control module 30 outputsa system message 162 to the computing entity 20-1, where the systemmessage 162 includes instructions to immediately boost the viscositybeyond the expected shear rate versus viscosity of the shear thickeningfluid 42. Alternatively, the system message 162 includes specificinformation on the relationship of viscosity versus shear rate.

Having received the system message 162, the computing entity 20-1determines a set of adjustments to make with regards to the shearthickening fluid 42 within the chamber 16. The set of adjustmentsincludes one or more of adjusting STF 42 flow through the chamber bypass40, adjusting STF 42 flow through the piston bypass 38, and activatingan emitter of a set of emitters 114-1-1 through 114-N-1. The flowadjustments include regulating within a flow range, stopping, starting,and allowing in one particular direction. For example, the computingentity 20-1 determines to activate emitter 114-1-1 to produce a magneticfield such as to interact with magnetic nanoparticles within the STF 42to raise the viscosity. The computing entity 20-1 issues another chamberI/O 160 to the emitter 114-1-1 to initiate a magnetic influence processto boost the viscosity of the STF 42.

In an alternative embodiment, the computing entity 22 issues anothersystem message 162 to two or more computing entities (e.g., 20-1 and20-2) to boost the viscosity for corresponding head units 10-1 and 10-2when the head unit connector 112 connects head units 10-1 and 10-2 andboth head units are controlling the motion of the object 12-1. Forinstance, one of the head units informs the computing entity 22 that theobject 12-1 is moving too quickly inward and the predicted stoppingpower of the expected viscosity versus shear rate of the STF 42 of thehead unit, even when boosted, will not be enough to slow the object 12-1to a desired velocity or position. When informed that one head unit,even with a modified viscosity, is not enough to control the object12-1, the control module 30 determines how many other head units (e.g.,connected via the head unit connector 112) to apply and to dynamicallymodify the viscosity.

In yet another alternative embodiment, the computing entity 22 issues aseries of system messages 162 to a set of computing entities associatedwith a corresponding set of head units to produce a cascading effect ofaltering of the viscosity of the STF 42 of each of the chambers 16associated with the set of head units. For example, 3 head units arecontrolled by 3 corresponding computing entities to adjust viscosity ina time cascaded manner. For instance, head unit 10-1 abruptly changesthe viscosity to attempt to slow the object 12-1 followed seconds laterby head unit 10-2 abruptly changing the viscosity to attempt to furtherslow the object 12-1, followed seconds later by head unit 12-3 abruptlychanging the viscosity to attempt to further slow the object 12-1

In a still further alternative embodiment, the computing entity 22conditionally issues each message of the series of system messages 162to the set of computing entities associated with the corresponding setof head units to produce the cascading effect of altering of theviscosity of the STF 42 of each of the chambers 16 associated with theset of head units only when a most recent adaptation of viscosity is notenough to slow the object 12-1 with desired results. For example, the 3head units are controlled by the 3 corresponding computing entities toadjust viscosity in a conditional time cascaded manner. For instance,head unit 10-1 abruptly changes the viscosity to attempt to slow theobject 12-1 followed seconds later by head unit 10-2 abruptly changingthe viscosity if head unit 10-1 was unsuccessful to attempt to furtherslow the object 12-1, followed seconds later by head unit 12-3 abruptlychanging the viscosity if head unit 10-2 was unsuccessful to attempt tofurther slow the object 12-1.

FIG. 1B is a graph of viscosity vs. shear rate for an aspect of anembodiment of a mechanical and computing system that includes a chamber,a shear thickening fluid, and a piston that moves through the chamberapplying forces on the shear thickening fluid. The shear thickeningfluid includes a non-Newtonian fluid since the relationship betweenshear rate and viscosity is nonlinear.

A relationship between compressive impulse (e.g., shear rate) and theviscosity of the shear thickening fluid is nonlinear and may compriseone or more inflection points as the piston travels within the chamberin response to different magnitudes of forces and differentaccelerations. The viscosity of the STF may also be a function of otherinfluences, such as electric fields, acoustical waves, magnetic fields,and other similar influences. As a first example of a response of ashear thickening fluid, a first range of shear rates in zone A has adecreasing viscosity as the shear rate increases and then in a secondrange of shear rates in zone B the viscosity increases abruptly. As asecond example of a response of a diluted shear thickening fluid, thefirst range of shear rates in zone A extends to a higher level of shearrates with the decreasing viscosity and then in the still higher secondrange of shear rates in zone B the viscosity increases abruptly similarto that of the shear thickening include.

The shear thickening fluid includes particles within a solvent. Examplesof particles of the shear thickening fluid include oxides, calciumcarbonate, synthetically occurring minerals, naturally occurringminerals, polymers, or a mixture thereof. Further examples of theparticles of the shear thickening fluid include SiO2, polystyrene, orpolymethylmethacrylate.

The particles are suspended in a solvent. Example components of thesolvent include water, a salt, a surfactant, and a polymer. Furtherexample components of the solvent include ethylene glycol, polyethyleneglycol, ethanol, silicon oils, phenyltrimethicone or a mixture thereof.Example particle diameters range from less than 100 μm to less than 1millimeter. In an instance, the shear thickening fluid is made of silicaparticles suspended in polyethylene glycol at a volume fraction ofapproximately 0.57 with the silica particles having an average particlediameter of approximately 446 nm. As a result, the shear thickeningfluid exhibits a shear thickening transition at a shear rate ofapproximately 102-103 s−1.

A volume fraction of particles dispersed within the solventdistinguishes the viscosity versus shear rate of different shearthickening fluids. The viscosity of the STF changes in response to theapplied shear stress. At rest and under weak applied shear stress, a STFmay have a fairly constant or even slightly decreasing viscosity becausethe random distribution of particles causes the particles to frequentlycollide. However, as a greater shear stress is applied so that the shearrate increases, the particles flow in a more streamlined manner.However, as an even greater shear stress is applied so that the shearrate increases further, a hydrodynamic coupling between the particlesmay overcome the interparticle forces responsible for Brownian motion.The particles may be driven closer together, and the microstructure ofthe colloidal dispersion may change, so that particles cluster togetherin hydroclusters.

The viscosity curve of the STF can be fine-tuned through changes in thecharacteristics of the particles suspended in the solvent. For example,the particles shape, surface chemistry, ionic strength, and size affectthe various interparticle forces involved, as does the properties of thesolvent. However, in general, hydrodynamic forces dominate at a highshear stress, which also makes the addition of a polymer attached to theparticle surface effective in limiting clumping in hydroclusters.Various factors influence this clumping behavior, including, fluid slip,adsorbed ions, surfactants, polymers, surface roughness, graft density(e.g., of a grafted polymer), molecular weight, and solvent, so that theonset of shear thickening can be modified. In general, the onset ofshear thickening can be slowed by the introduction of techniques toprevent the clumping of particles. For example, influencing the STF withemissions from an emitter in proximal location to the chamber.

FIG. 1C is a graph of piston velocity vs. force applied to the pistonfor an aspect of an embodiment of a mechanical and computing system thatincludes a chamber, a shear thickening fluid, and a piston that movesthrough the chamber applying forces on the shear thickening fluid. Theshear thickening fluid includes a non-Newtonian fluid since therelationship between shear rate and viscosity is nonlinear.

An example curve for a shear thickening fluid indicates that as moreforce is applied to the piston in zone A, a higher piston velocity isrealized until the corresponding transition to zone B occurs where theshear threshold affect takes hold and the viscosity abruptly increasessignificantly. When the viscosity increases abruptly, the pistonvelocity slows back down and may even stop.

Another example curve for a diluted shear thickening fluid indicatesthat as more force is applied to the piston in zone A, an even higherpiston velocity is realized until the corresponding transition to zone Boccurs where the shear threshold affect takes hold and the viscosityabruptly increases significantly. When the viscosity increases abruptly,the piston velocity slows back down and may even stop.

FIG. 2A is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the computingentity (e.g., 20-1 through 20-N; and 22) of the mechanical and computingsystem of FIG. 1 . The computing entity includes one or more computingdevices 100-1 through 100-N. A computing device is any electronic devicethat communicates data, processes data, represents data (e.g., userinterface) and/or stores data.

Computing devices include portable computing devices and fixed computingdevices. Examples of portable computing devices include an embeddedcontroller, a smart sensor, a social networking device, a gaming device,a smart phone, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a video gamecontroller, and/or any other portable device that includes a computingcore. Examples of fixed computing devices includes a personal computer,a computer server, a cable set-top box, a fixed display device, anappliance, and industrial controller, a video game counsel, a homeentertainment controller, a critical infrastructure controller, and/orany type of home, office or cloud computing equipment that includes acomputing core.

FIG. 2B is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a computingdevice (e.g., 100-1 through 100-N) of the computing entity of FIG. 2Athat includes one or more computing cores 52-1 through 52-N, a memorymodule 102, a human interface module 18, an environment sensor module14, and an input/output (I/O) module 104. In alternative embodiments,the human interface module 18, the environment sensor module 14, the I/Omodule 104, and the memory module 102 may be standalone (e.g., externalto the computing device). An embodiment of the computing device isdiscussed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 3 .

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of another embodiment of thecomputing device 100-1 of the mechanical and computing system of FIG. 1that includes the human interface module 18, the environment sensormodule 14, the computing core 52-1, the memory module 102, and the I/Omodule 104. The human interface module 18 includes one or more visualoutput devices 74 (e.g., video graphics display, 3-D viewer,touchscreen, LED, etc.), one or more visual input devices 80 (e.g., astill image camera, a video camera, a 3-D video camera, photocell,etc.), and one or more audio output devices 78 (e.g., speaker(s),headphone jack, a motor, etc.). The human interface module 18 furtherincludes one or more user input devices 76 (e.g., keypad, keyboard,touchscreen, voice to text, a push button, a microphone, a card reader,a door position switch, a biometric input device, etc.) and one or moremotion output devices 106 (e.g., servos, motors, lifts, pumps,actuators, anything to get real-world objects to move).

The computing core 52-1 includes a video graphics module 54, one or moreprocessing modules 50-1 through 50-N, a memory controller 56, one ormore main memories 58-1 through 58-N (e.g., RAM), one or moreinput/output (I/O) device interface modules 62, an input/output (I/O)controller 60, and a peripheral interface 64. A processing module is asdefined at the end of the detailed description.

The memory module 102 includes a memory interface module 70 and one ormore memory devices, including flash memory devices 92, hard drive (HD)memory 94, solid state (SS) memory 96, and cloud memory 98. The cloudmemory 98 includes an on-line storage system and an on-line backupsystem.

The I/O module 104 includes a network interface module 72, a peripheraldevice interface module 68, and a universal serial bus (USB) interfacemodule 66. Each of the I/O device interface module 62, the peripheralinterface 64, the memory interface module 70, the network interfacemodule 72, the peripheral device interface module 68, and the USBinterface modules 66 includes a combination of hardware (e.g.,connectors, wiring, etc.) and operational instructions stored on memory(e.g., driver software) that are executed by one or more of theprocessing modules 50-1 through 50-N and/or a processing circuit withinthe particular module.

The I/O module 104 further includes one or more wireless location modems84 (e.g., global positioning satellite (GPS), Wi-Fi, angle of arrival,time difference of arrival, signal strength, dedicated wirelesslocation, etc.) and one or more wireless communication modems 86 (e.g.,a cellular network transceiver, a wireless data network transceiver, aWi-Fi transceiver, a Bluetooth transceiver, a 315 MHz transceiver, a zigbee transceiver, a 60 GHz transceiver, etc.). The I/O module 104 furtherincludes a telco interface 108 (e.g., to interface to a public switchedtelephone network), a wired local area network (LAN) 88 (e.g., optical,electrical), and a wired wide area network (WAN) 90 (e.g., optical,electrical). The I/O module 104 further includes one or more peripheraldevices (e.g., peripheral devices 1-P) and one or more universal serialbus (USB) devices (USB devices 1-U). In other embodiments, the computingdevice 100-1 may include more or less devices and modules than shown inthis example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the environmentsensor module 14 of the computing device of FIG. 2B that includes asensor interface module 120 to output environment sensor information 150based on information communicated with a set of sensors. The set ofsensors includes a visual sensor 122 (e.g., to the camera, 3-D camera,360° view camera, a camera array, an optical spectrometer, etc.) and anaudio sensor 124 (e.g., a microphone, a microphone array). The set ofsensors further includes a motion sensor 126 (e.g., a solid-state Gyro,a vibration detector, a laser motion detector) and a position sensor 128(e.g., a Hall effect sensor, an image detector, a GPS receiver, a radarsystem).

The set of sensors further includes a scanning sensor 130 (e.g., CATscan, MRI, x-ray, ultrasound, radio scatter, particle detector, lasermeasure, further radar) and a temperature sensor 132 (e.g., thermometer,thermal coupler). The set of sensors further includes a humidity sensor134 (resistance based, capacitance based) and an altitude sensor 136(e.g., pressure based, GPS-based, laser-based).

The set of sensors further includes a biosensor 138 (e.g., enzyme,microbial) and a chemical sensor 140 (e.g., mass spectrometer, gas,polymer). The set of sensors further includes a magnetic sensor 142(e.g., Hall effect, piezo electric, coil, magnetic tunnel junction) andany generic sensor 144 (e.g., including a hybrid combination of two ormore of the other sensors).

FIGS. 5A-5B are schematic block diagrams of another embodiment of amechanical and computing system illustrating an example of controllingoperational aspects. The mechanical and computing system includes thehead unit 10-1 of FIG. 1 , the object 12-1 of FIG. 1 , the environmentsensor module 14 of FIG. 2B, and the computing entity 20-1 of FIG. 1 .

In particular, the head unit 10-1 for controlling motion of the object12-1 includes a chamber 16 filled at least in part with a shearthickening fluid (STF) 42. The head unit 10-1 further includes a piston36 housed at least partially radially within the chamber 16. The piston36 is configured to exert pressure against the shear thickening fluid 42in response to movement of the piston 36 from a force applied to thepiston 36 from the object 12-1.

The movement of the piston 36 includes one of traveling through thechamber 16 in an inward direction and traveling through the chamber 16in an outward direction. The STF is configured to have a decreasingviscosity in response to a first range of shear rates and an increasingviscosity in response to a second range of shear rates. The head unit10-1 further includes a set of fluid flow sensors 116-1-1 and 116-1-2positioned proximal to the chamber 16. The set of fluid flow sensorsprovide a fluid response from the STF.

The head unit 10-1 further includes a set of fluid manipulation emitters114-1-1 and 114-1-2 proximal to the chamber 16. The set of fluidmanipulation emitters provide a fluid activation to the STF 42.

The chamber 16 further includes a variable partition 260 within thechamber between the piston and a closed-end of the chamber todynamically affect volume of the chamber based on activation of thevariable partition. The chamber includes a piston compartment and analternative reservoir 250. The piston compartment includes a backchannel 24 on an inward side of the piston 36 and a front channel 26 onthe outward side of the piston 36. The alternative reservoir is filledat least in part with an alternative STF 256. The variable partitionincludes a reservoir injector 254. The reservoir injector 254 couplesthe alternative reservoir 250 to the piston compartment controlling theinflow of the alternative STF 256 from the alternative reservoir 250 tothe piston compartment to mix with the STF.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example of operation of a method for thecontrolling the operational aspects. A first step of the example ofoperation includes the computing entity 20-1 interpreting environmentsensor information 150 to detect a pre-event of concern. Examples ofpre-events of concern include a temperature reaching a thresholdtemperature level, a pressure reaching a pressure threshold level,movement, sound identity of an associated object, a likely collisiondetection, a proximity detection, a drop detection, a gun muzzle flash,a seismic event, a cable break, a belt slippage, and unfavorable chaintension, etc. In an instance, the environment sensor module 14 includesthe visual sensor 122 of FIG. 4 and produces the environment sensorinformation 150 to include an image of a first vehicle that is about tocollide with a second vehicle associated with the object 12-1, where theobject 12-1 includes a bumper on the second vehicle.

The detecting of the pre-event of concern further includes the computingentity 20-1 interpreting fluid response 232-1-1 from fluid flow sensor116-1-1 and fluid response 232-1-2 from fluid flow sensor 116-1-2 toproduce piston velocity 182 and piston position 184. The detecting ofthe pre-event of concern further includes the computing entity 20-1determining a shear force 186 based on the piston velocity 182 andpiston position 184. The determining the shear force based on the pistonvelocity and the piston position includes one approach of a variety ofapproaches. A first approach includes extracting the shear forcedirectly from the fluid response when one or more sensors of the set offluid flow sensors outputs a shear force encoded signal. For example,the computing entity 20-1 extracts the shear force 186 directly from theglued responses 232-1-1 and 232-1-2. In an instance, the shear force 186reveals the piston velocity versus force applied to the piston curve asillustrated in FIG. 5A, where at a current time of interpreting theresponse, the force and piston velocity are at a point X1.

A second approach includes determining the shear force utilizing thepiston velocity and stored data for piston velocity verses shear forcefor the STF. For example, the computing entity 20-1 compares thevelocity and position to stored data for instantaneous velocity andposition verses shear force for the STF 42.

A third approach includes determining the shear force utilizing thepiston position and stored data for piston position verses shear forcefor the STF within the chamber. For example, the computing entity 20-1compares the velocity and position to stored data for instantaneousvelocity and position verses shear force for the STF 42.

FIG. 5B further illustrates the example of operation, where havingdetected the pre-event of concern, in a second step the computing entity20-1 determines a desired response 188 for the shear thickening fluid ofthe head unit device for controlling motion of the object 12-1 based onthe pre-event of concern. For example, the computing entity 20-1determines to rapidly increase the viscosity of the STF 42 to brace foran impact from a certain collision from the second vehicle upon theobject 12-1 (e.g., bumper of the first vehicle) when the pre-event ofconcern indicates a high confidence of collision. The desired responseis represented in the force versus piston velocity diagram of FIG. 5B.

The desired response includes a variety of approaches. A first approachincludes injecting the alternative STF 256 into the back channel 24 byway of the reservoir injector 254. A second approach includes moving thevariable partition 260 towards the piston 36 to increase the forces onthe STF 42. A third approach includes both moving the variable partitionand injecting the alternative STF.

Having determined the desired response for the STF, a third step of theexample of operation includes the computing entity 20-1 activating thevariable partition 260 in accordance with the desired response for theSTF. For example, the computing entity 20-1 outputs a variable partitionactivation 235 to the reservoir injector 254 of the variable partition260 to open the reservoir injector 254 to enable inflow of thealternative STF 256 into the back chamber 24.

Alternatively, or in addition to, the computing entity 20-1 furtherdetermines, via the fluid flow sensors, the piston velocity 182 and thepiston position 184 to determine whether to apply a further activationof the variable partition approach to either further slow down thepiston or to speed it up. When applying corrections, the actual responseis slowed to a dead stop at a time X2 as indicated in graph of FIG. 5B.

The method described above in conjunction with a processing module ofany computing entity of the mechanical and computing system of FIG. 1can alternatively be performed by other modules of the system of FIG. 1or by other devices. In addition, at least one memory section that isnon-transitory (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage medium,a non-transitory computer readable memory organized into a first memoryelement, a second memory element, a third memory element, a fourthelement section, a fifth memory element, a sixth memory element, etc.)that stores operational instructions can, when executed by one or moreprocessing modules of the one or more computing entities of thecomputing system 10, cause one or more computing devices of themechanical and computing system of FIG. 1 to perform any or all of themethod steps described above.

FIGS. 6A-6B are schematic block diagrams of another embodiment of amechanical and computing system illustrating an example of controllingoperational aspects. The mechanical and computing system includes thehead unit 10-1 of FIG. 1 , the object 12-1 of FIG. 1 , and the computingentity 20-1 of FIG. 1 .

In particular, the head unit 10-1 for controlling motion of the object12-1 includes a chamber 16 filled at least in part with a shearthickening fluid (STF) 42. The chamber includes a back channel 24 on aninward side of the piston 36 and a front channel 26 on the outward sideof the piston 36. The head unit 10-1 further includes a piston 36 housedat least partially radially within the chamber 16. The piston 36 isconfigured to exert pressure against the shear thickening fluid 42 inresponse to movement of the piston 36 from a force applied to the piston36 from the object 12-1.

The movement of the piston 36 includes one of traveling through thechamber 16 in an inward direction and traveling through the chamber 16in an outward direction. The STF is configured to have a decreasingviscosity in response to a first range of shear rates and an increasingviscosity in response to a second range of shear rates.

The piston 36 includes a first piston bypass 38-1 between opposite sidesof the piston that controls flow of the STF between the opposite sidesof the piston from the back channel 24 to the front channel 26 when thepiston is traveling through the chamber in the inward direction to causethe STF to react with a first shear threshold effect. The piston 36further includes a second piston bypass 38-2 between the opposite sidesof the piston that controls flow of the STF between the opposite sidesof the piston from the front channel 26 to the back channel 24 when thepiston is traveling through the chamber in the outward direction tocause the STF to react with a second shear threshold effect;

The head unit 10-1 further includes a set of fluid flow sensors 116-1-1and 116-1-2 positioned proximal to the chamber 16. The set of fluid flowsensors provide a fluid response from the STF 42. The head unit 10-1further includes a set of fluid manipulation emitters 114-1-1 and114-1-2 proximal to the chamber 16. The set of fluid manipulationemitters provide a fluid activation to at least one of the STF 42, thefirst piston bypass 38-1, and the second piston bypass 38-2.

FIG. 6A illustrates an example of operation of a method for thecontrolling the operational aspects. A first step of the example ofoperation includes the piston 36 moving inward towards the head unit10-1 in response to a force from the object 12-1 through the plunger 28to cause compression of the STF 42 in the back channel 24.

A second step of the example method of operation includes the computingentity 20-1 interpreting a fluid flow response from the set of fluidflow sensors to produce a piston velocity 182, a piston position 184,and a shear force 186 as previously discussed and as illustrated at timeY1 in the graph of FIG. 6A. Having produced the piston velocity, thepiston position, and the sheer force, a third step of the example methodof operation includes the computing entity 20-1 determining a fluidactivation for the head unit device based on one or more of the pistonvelocity, the piston position, and the sheer force. The determining thefluid activation includes determining a desired response based on one ormore of the piston velocity, the piston position, and the shear force.For example, the computing entity 20-1 determines to significantlyincrease the viscosity of the STF to affect a soft close of a door whenthe object 12-1 includes a door that is about to close too fast.

The determining the fluid activation further includes selecting a typeof activation to utilize the fluid activation. Types of activationinclude directly affecting the viscosity and shear threshold effect ofthe STF by way of signals applied to the fluid manipulation emitters andcontrolling one of the first piston bypass 38-1 and second piston bypass38-2 to increase or decrease shear force within the chamber which inturn affects viscosity of the STF. For example, the computing entity20-1 selects further restricting the opening of the first piston bypass38-1 to create more pressure in the back channel 24 to provide an actualresponse of force versus piston velocity as illustrated in the graph ofFIG. 6A at a time Y2 when the door is to soft close.

Having determined the fluid activation, a fourth step of the examplemethod of operation includes the computing entity 20-1 activating theset of fluid manipulation emitters 114-1-1 and 114-1-2 with the fluidactivation 234-1-1 and 234-1-2 to manipulate the first shear thresholdeffect associated with the first piston bypass (e.g., to increase sheerforce to move to the second range of shear rates such that the viscosityof the STF increases to slow down the door).

FIG. 6B further illustrates the example of operation of the method forthe controlling the operational aspects. A fifth step of the example ofoperation includes the piston 36 moving outward away from the head unit10-1 in response to a pulling force from the object 12-1 through theplunger 28 to cause compression of the STF 42 in the front channel 26.

A sixth step of the example method of operation includes the computingentity 20-1 further interpreting a fluid flow response from the set offluid flow sensors to produce the piston velocity 182, the pistonposition 184, and the shear force 186 as previously discussed and asillustrated at time Y3 in the graph of FIG. 6A.

Having produced the piston velocity, the piston position, and the sheerforce, a seventh step of the example method of operation includes thecomputing entity 20-1 determining the fluid activation for the head unitdevice based on one or more of the piston velocity, the piston position,and the shear force. The determining the fluid activation includesdetermining a desired response based on one or more of the pistonvelocity, the piston position, and the shear force. For example, thecomputing entity 20-1 determines to significantly increase the viscosityof the STF to affect a soft opening of the door when the object 12-1includes the door that is about to open too fast and crush a backstop.

The determining the fluid activation further includes selecting the typeof activation to utilize the fluid activation. For example, thecomputing entity 20-1 selects further restricting the opening of thesecond piston bypass 38-2 to create more pressure in the front channel26 to provide an actual response of force versus piston velocity asillustrated in the graph of FIG. 6A at a time Y4 when the door is tosoft open.

Having determined the fluid activation, an eighth step of the examplemethod of operation includes the computing entity 20-1 activating theset of fluid manipulation emitters 114-1-1 and 114-1-2 with the fluidactivation 234-1-1 and 234-1-2 to manipulate the second shear thresholdeffect associated with the second piston bypass 38-2 (e.g., to increasesheer force to move to the second range of shear rates such that theviscosity of the STF increases to slow down the door as it opens softlyat an end of travel).

The method described above in conjunction with a processing module ofany computing entity of the mechanical and computing system of FIG. 1can alternatively be performed by other modules of the system of FIG. 1or by other devices. In addition, at least one memory section that isnon-transitory (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage medium,a non-transitory computer readable memory organized into a first memoryelement, a second memory element, a third memory element, a fourthelement section, a fifth memory element, a sixth memory element, etc.)that stores operational instructions can, when executed by one or moreprocessing modules of the one or more computing entities of thecomputing system 10, cause one or more computing devices of themechanical and computing system of FIG. 1 to perform any or all of themethod steps described above.

FIGS. 7A-7B are schematic block diagrams of another embodiment of amechanical and computing system illustrating an example of controllingoperational aspects. The mechanical and computing system includes thehead unit 10-1 of FIG. 1 , the object 12-1 of FIG. 1 , and the computingentity 20-1 of FIG. 1 .

In particular, the head unit 10-1 for controlling motion of the object12-1 includes a chamber 16 to be filled at least in part with a shearthickening fluid (STF) 42. The head unit 10-1 further includes a piston36 housed at least partially radially within the chamber 16. The piston36 is configured to exert pressure against the shear thickening fluid 42in response to movement of the piston 36 from a force applied to thepiston 36 from the object 12-1.

The movement of the piston 36 includes one of traveling through thechamber 16 in an inward direction and traveling through the chamber 16in an outward direction. The STF is configured to have a decreasingviscosity in response to a first range of shear rates and an increasingviscosity in response to a second range of shear rates. The head unit10-1 further includes a set of fluid flow sensors 116-1-1 and 116-1-2positioned proximal to the chamber 16. The set of fluid flow sensorsprovide a fluid response from the STF.

The head unit 10-1 further includes a set of fluid manipulation emitters114-1-1 and 114-1-2 proximal to the chamber 16. The set of fluidmanipulation emitters provide a fluid activation to the STF 42.

The chamber 16 further includes a STF partition 261 within the chamberbetween the piston and a closed-end of the chamber to dynamically affectvolume of the chamber based on activation of the STF partition. Thechamber includes a piston compartment and an alternative reservoir 250.The piston compartment includes a back channel 24 on an inward side ofthe piston 36 and a front channel 26 on the outward side of the piston36. The alternative reservoir 250 is filled at least in part with a setof ingredients of the STF 42. The ingredients include fluid andnanoparticles as previously discussed.

The STF partition includes a reservoir injector 254. The reservoirinjector 254 couples the alternative reservoir 250 to the pistoncompartment controlling the inflow of the one or more ingredients of theSTF 42 from the alternative reservoir 250 to the piston compartment.

FIG. 7A illustrates an example of operation of a method for thecontrolling the operational aspects. A first step of the example ofoperation includes the computing entity 20-1 interpreting fluid response232-1-1 from fluid flow sensor 116-1-1 and fluid response 232-1-2 fromfluid flow sensor 116-1-2 to produce piston velocity 182 and pistonposition 184. The interpreting the fluid response further includes thecomputing entity 20-1 determining a shear force 186 based on the pistonvelocity 182 and piston position 184 as previously discussed. In aninstance, the shear force 186 reveals the piston velocity versus forceapplied to the piston curve as illustrated in FIG. 7A, where at acurrent time of interpreting the response, the force and piston velocityare at a point X1.

Having determined the piston velocity and piston position, a second stepof the example method of operation includes the computing entity 20-1determining required STF parameters 183 based on the piston velocity inthe piston position of the piston. The STF parameters includes the firstrange of shear rates and the second range of shear rates. Thedetermining the STF parameters 183 includes a variety of approaches. Afirst approach includes performing a lookup based on the currentvelocity and position. A second approach includes selecting one of thefirst range of shear rates and the second range of shear rates based ona desired position for the piston is a function of the current velocityand position. For example, the computing entity 20-1 selects the secondrange of shear rates when the piston is to be abruptly slowed down. Asanother example, the computing entity 20-1 selects the first range ofshear rates when the piston may continue traveling as is.

FIG. 7B further illustrates the example of operation for the method forthe controlling of the operational aspects where, having determined therequired STF parameters, in a third step the computing entity 20-1determines a STF formulation based on the required STF parameters. TheSTF formulation includes a formulation of the STF ingredients to producethe STF in accordance with the required STF parameters. The determiningof the STF formulation includes a variety of approaches. A firstapproach includes performing a lookup. A second approach includesutilizing a formula that uses inputs including current velocity andposition and a desired velocity and position within a given timeframe toproduce the STF formulation. A third approach includes utilizing the STF42 when the STF 42 is premixed within the alternative reservoir 250.

Having produced the STF formulation, a fourth step of the example methodof operation includes the computing entity 20-1 facilitating utilizationof the STF formulation. For example, the computing entity 20-1 activatesthe reservoir injector 254 with and injector activation 237 based on theSTF formulation to facilitate filling the back channel 24 of the chamberwith the STF 42 to provide an actual response of force versus velocityas illustrated in the graph of FIG. 7B at a time X2. Alternatively, orin addition to, the computing entity 20-1 issues fluid activation234-1-1 and 234-1-2 to the fluid manipulation emitters 114-1-1 and114-1-2 to affect the utilization of the first or second ranges of shearrates of the STF to adjust the speed and position of the object 12-1.

The method described above in conjunction with a processing module ofany computing entity of the mechanical and computing system of FIG. 1can alternatively be performed by other modules of the system of FIG. 1or by other devices. In addition, at least one memory section that isnon-transitory (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage medium,a non-transitory computer readable memory organized into a first memoryelement, a second memory element, a third memory element, a fourthelement section, a fifth memory element, a sixth memory element, etc.)that stores operational instructions can, when executed by one or moreprocessing modules of the one or more computing entities of thecomputing system 10, cause one or more computing devices of themechanical and computing system of FIG. 1 to perform any or all of themethod steps described above.

FIGS. 8A-8B are schematic block diagrams of another embodiment of amechanical and computing system illustrating an example of controllingoperational aspects. The mechanical and computing system provides a headunit system that includes the head unit 10-1 of FIG. 1 , the object 12-1of FIG. 1 (e.g., a door), a secondary object 12-2 (e.g., a person), asecondary object sensor (e.g., the environment sensor module 14 of FIG.2B to detect the person), and the computing entity 20-1 of FIG. 1 . Thesecondary object sensor is associated with the object 12-1 (e.g., theperson is within a few feet of the door).

In particular, the head unit 10-1 for controlling motion of the object12-1 includes shear thickening fluid (STF)42. The STF is configured tohave a decreasing viscosity in response to a first range of shear ratesand an increasing viscosity in response to a second range of shearrates. The second range of shear rates are greater than the first rangeof shear rates.

The head unit 10-1 further include a chamber 16. The chamber 16 isconfigured to contain a portion of the STF. The chamber includes a frontchannel 26 and a back channel 24.

A piston 36 is housed at least partially radially within the chamber andseparates the back channel 24 and the front 26. The piston 36 isconfigured to exert pressure against the shear thickening fluid 42 inresponse to movement of the piston 36 from a force applied to the piston36 from the object 12-1. The movement of the piston includes one oftraveling through the chamber in an inward direction or travelingthrough the chamber in an outward direction. The piston travels towardthe back channel and away from the front channel when traveling in theinward direction. The piston travels toward the front channel and awayfrom the back channel when traveling in the outward direction.

The piston 36 includes a first piston bypass 38-1 between opposite sidesof the piston that controls flow of the STF between the opposite sidesof the piston from the back channel to the front channel when the pistonis traveling through the chamber in the inward direction to cause theSTF to react with a first shear threshold effect. The piston 36 furtherincludes a second piston bypass 38-2 between the opposite sides of thepiston that controls flow of the STF between the opposite sides of thepiston from the front channel to the back channel when the piston istraveling through the chamber in the outward direction to cause the STFto react with a second shear threshold effect.

The head unit 10-1 further includes a set of fluid flow sensors 116-1-1and 116-1-2 positioned proximal to the chamber. The set of fluid flowsensors provide a fluid response 232-1-1 and 232-1-2 respectively fromthe STF.

The head unit 10-1 further includes a set of fluid manipulation emitters114-1-1 and 114-1-2 positioned proximal to the chamber. The set of fluidmanipulation emitters provide a fluid activation to at least one of theSTF, the first piston bypass, and the second piston bypass to controlthe motion of the object 12-1 with regards to the secondary object 12-2.

FIG. 8A illustrates an example of operation of a method for thecontrolling the operational aspects. A first step of the example ofoperation includes the piston 36 moving inward towards the head unit10-1 in response to a force from the object 12-1 through the plunger 28to cause compression of the STF 42 in the back channel 24.

A second step of the example method of operation includes the computingentity 20-1 interpreting a fluid flow response from the set of fluidflow sensors to produce a piston velocity 182, a piston position 184,and a shear force 186 as previously discussed and as illustrated at timeY1 in the graph of FIG. 8A. The interpreting the fluid response from theset of fluid flow sensors to produce the piston velocity and the pistonposition of the piston includes a series of sub-steps. A first sub-stepincludes inputting, from one or more fluid flow sensors of the set offluid flow sensors, a set of fluid flow signals over a time range. Forexample, the computing entity 20-1 receives fluid responses 232-1-1 and232-1-2 over the time range, where the fluid responses include the fluidflow signals.

A second sub-step includes determining the fluid flow response of theset of fluid flow sensors based on the set of fluid flow signals. Forexample, the computing entity 20-1 interprets the fluid flow signals toproduce the fluid response.

A third sub-step includes determining the piston velocity based on thefluid response of the set of fluid flow sensors over the time range. Forexample, the computing entity 20-1 calculates piston velocity based onchanges in the fluid response over the time range.

A fourth sub-step includes determining the piston position based on thepiston velocity and a real-time reference. For example, the computingentity 20-1 calculates the piston position based on time in the pistonvelocity as the piston moves through the chamber.

As yet another example of interpreting the fluid response 232-1-1 and232-1-2, the computing entity 20-1 compares the fluid response 232-1-1and 232-1-2 to previous measurements of fluid flow versus pistonvelocity and piston position to produce the piston velocity 182 andpiston position 184. As a still further example of the interpreting thefluid response 232-1-1 and 232-1-2, the computing entity 20-1 extractsthe piston velocity 182 and the piston position 184 directly from thefluid response 232-1-1 and/or 232-1-2 when the sensors 116-1-1 and116-1-2 generate the piston velocity and piston position directly.

Having produced the piston velocity, the piston position, and the shearforce, a third step of the example method of operation includes thecomputing entity 20-1 interpreting an output of the secondary objectsensor to produce a position of the secondary object. The interpretingthe output of the secondary object sensor to produce the position of thesecondary object includes one or more sub-steps. A first sub-stepincludes interpreting environmental sensor information 150 to confirmthat the secondary object 12-2 is proximal to the object 12-1. Forexample, the computing entity 20-1 interprets environment sensorinformation 150 from the environment sensor module 14 to detect theobject 12-2 (e.g., the person) within a common area associated with theobject 12-1 (e.g., the door).

In an embodiment, the first sub-step further includes determining andidentity of the secondary object 12-2. For example, the computing entity20-1 further interprets the environment sensor information 150 toidentify the secondary object 12-2 as Bob rather than Sally.

A second sub-step includes determining a velocity vector for thesecondary object based on environmental sensor information over anobservation timeframe. For example, the computing entity 20-1 keepstrack of position of the secondary object over a plurality of points intime to produce the velocity vector.

A third sub-step includes interpreting the velocity vector for thesecondary object to produce the position of the secondary object. Forexample, the computing entity 20-1 integrates the velocity vector toproduce the position of the secondary object.

Having detected the secondary object and produced the position of thesecondary object, a fourth step of the example method of operationincludes the computing entity determining a fluid activation for thehead unit device based on one or more of identity of the secondaryobject (e.g., Bob versus Sally), the position of the secondary object,and one or more of the piston velocity, the piston position, and theshear force. The determining the fluid activation includes one or moreof a variety of approaches. A first approach includes determining anobject position for the object based on the piston velocity and thepiston position. For example, the computing entity 20-1 maps pistonposition to object position based on a historical relationship (e.g.,the object 12-1 and the piston 36 are operably coupled by the plunger28).

A second approach includes interpreting a request associated withmodifying one or more of object velocity and object position. Forexample, the computing entity 20-1 receives a request from anothercomputing entity to speed up or slow down the door.

A third approach includes interpreting guidance from a chamber database.For example, the computing entity 20-1 interprets a desired fluidactivation based on the identification of the secondary object 12-2. Forinstance, the door is to open with a higher velocity for Bob versusSally.

A fourth approach establishing the fluid activation to includefacilitating the first range of shear rates to speed up the object whendetecting that a distance between the object and the secondary object isless than a minimum distance threshold based on the object position andthe position of the secondary object and when the secondary object ismoving closer to the object. For example, the computing entity 20-1facilitates speeding up the door opening when the person is too close tothe door.

A fifth approach includes establishing the fluid activation to includefacilitating the first range of shear rates to speed up the object whendetecting that the distance between the object and the secondary objectis greater than a maximum distance threshold based on the objectposition and the position of the secondary object and when the secondaryobject is moving away from the object. For example, the computing entity20-1 facilitates speeding up the door opening when the person is too farfrom the door.

A sixth approach includes establishing the fluid activation to includefacilitating the second range of shear rates to slow down the objectwhen detecting that the distance between the object and the secondaryobject is greater than the maximum distance threshold based on theobject position and the position of the secondary object and when thesecondary object is moving closer to the object. For example, thecomputing entity 20-1 facilitates slowing down the door when the door isclosing too fast on the person.

A seventh approach includes establishing the fluid activation to includefacilitating the second range of shear rates to slow down the objectwhen detecting that the distance between the object and the secondaryobject is less than the minimum distance threshold based on the objectposition and the position of the secondary object and when the secondaryobject is moving away from the object. For example, the computing entity20-1 facilitates slowing down the door when the door is opening too fastfor the person.

A ninth approach includes establishing the fluid activation to includefacilitating the second range of shear rates to slow down the objectwhen detecting that a velocity difference between the piston velocityand a velocity of the secondary object is greater than a maximumvelocity difference threshold, the piston velocity is greater than thevelocity of the secondary object, and the secondary object is movingtowards the object. For example, the computing entity facilitatesslowing down the door when the door is opening too fast ahead of theperson.

A tenth approach includes establishing the fluid activation to includefacilitating the second range of shear rates to slow down the objectwhen detecting that the velocity difference between the piston velocityand the velocity of the secondary object is less than a minimum velocitydifference threshold, the piston velocity is greater than the velocityof the secondary object, and the secondary object is moving away fromthe object. For example, the computing entity 20-1 facilitates slowingdown the door when the door is moving too fast ahead of the person.

An eleventh approach includes establishing the fluid activation toinclude facilitating the first range of shear rates to speed up theobject when detecting that the velocity difference between the pistonvelocity and the velocity of the secondary object is greater than themaximum velocity difference threshold, the piston velocity is less thanthe velocity of the secondary object, and the secondary object is movingtowards the object. For example, the computing entity 20-1 facilitatesspeeding up the door when the door is too slow for the person.

A twelfth approach includes establishing the fluid activation to includefacilitating the first range of shear rates to speed up the object whendetecting that the velocity difference between the piston velocity andthe velocity of the secondary object is less than the minimum velocitydifference threshold, the piston velocity is less than the velocity ofthe secondary object, and the secondary object is moving away from theobject. For example, the computing entity 20-1 facilitates speeding upthe door when the door is too slow for the person.

A thirteenth approach includes detecting an environmental conditionwarranting a change in viscosity of the STF. For example, the computingentity 20-1 identifies the possibility of a collision between the personin the door based on the positions and velocities of the door and theperson if a nominal response of the STF were allowed to proceed past thepoint Y1 as illustrated in FIG. 8A.

The determining the fluid activation further includes selecting a typeof activation to utilize the fluid activation as previously discussed.For example, the computing entity 20-1 selects further restricting anopening of the first piston bypass 38-1 to create more pressure in theback channel 24 to provide an actual response of force versus pistonvelocity as illustrated in the graph of FIG. 8A at a time Y2 when thedoor is to soft close slowly for the person as desired to avoid anycollision.

Having determined the fluid activation, a fifth step of the examplemethod of operation includes the computing entity 20-1 activating theset of fluid manipulation emitters 114-1-1 and 114-1-2 with the fluidactivation 234-1-1 and 234-1-2 to manipulate the first shear thresholdeffect associated with the first piston bypass (e.g., to increase sheerforce to move to the second range of shear rates such that the viscosityof the STF increases to slow down the door). Alternatively, asillustrated in FIG. 8B, the fluid manipulation emitters are activated tomanipulate the second shear threshold effect associated with the secondpiston bypass to control the motion of the object with regards to thesecondary object when the piston is moving in the outward direction.Alternatively, or in addition to, the head unit system further monitorsthe environment sensor module 14 to ensure that a collision does nothappen between the object 12-2 and the object 12-1 (e.g., when a cart isbeing pushed through a door opening to prevent the door from hitting thecart).

The activating the set of fluid manipulation emitters in accordance withthe fluid activation to manipulate one of the first shear thresholdeffect associated with the first piston bypass and the second shearthreshold effect associated with the second piston bypass to control themotion of the object with regards to the secondary object includes twoprimary approaches.

When the piston is traveling through the chamber in the inward directionas illustrated in FIG. 8A, a first primary approach includes thecomputing entity 20-1 issuing the fluid activation to the set of fluidmanipulation emitters to cause the first piston bypass 38-1 tofacilitate the first shear threshold effect to include the first rangeof shear rates when the STF is to have the decreasing viscosity (e.g.,speed up door opening or closing). Alternatively, the computing entity20-1 issues the fluid activation to the set of fluid manipulationemitters to cause the first piston bypass 38-1 to facilitate the firstshear threshold effect to include the second range of shear rates whenthe STF is to have the increasing viscosity (e.g., to slow down the dooropening or closing).

When the piston is traveling through the chamber in the outwarddirection as illustrated in FIG. 8B, a second primary approach includesthe computing entity 20-1 issuing the fluid activation to the set offluid manipulation emitters to cause the second piston bypass 38-2 tofacilitate the second shear threshold effect to include the first rangeof shear rates when the STF is to have the decreasing viscosity (e.g.,speed up the door opening or closing). Alternatively, the computingentity 20-1 issues the fluid activation to the set of fluid manipulationemitters to cause the second piston bypass to facilitate the secondshear threshold effect to include the second range of shear rates whenthe STF is to have the increasing viscosity (e.g., to slow down the dooropening or closing).

FIG. 8B further illustrates the example of operation of the method forthe controlling the operational aspects. A sixth step of the examplemethod of operation includes the piston 36 moving outward away from thehead unit 10-1 in response to a pulling force from the object 12-1through the plunger 28 to cause compression of the STF 42 in the frontchannel 26 (e.g., opening of the door).

A seventh step of the example method of operation includes the computingentity 20-1 further interpreting a fluid flow response from the set offluid flow sensors to produce the piston velocity 182, the pistonposition 184, and the shear force 186 as previously discussed and asillustrated at time Y3 in the graph of FIG. 8B.

Having produced the piston velocity, the piston position, and the shearforce, an eighth step of the example method of operation includes thecomputing entity 20-1 determining the fluid activation for the head unitdevice based an updated position for the object 12-2, and based on oneor more of the piston velocity, the piston position, and the shear forceas previously discussed. The determining the fluid activation includesdetermining a desired response. For example, the computing entity 20-1determines to significantly decrease the viscosity of the STF to affecta faster opening of the door when the object 12-1 includes the door thatis about to open too slowly and collide with the object 12-2

The determining the fluid activation further includes selecting the typeof activation to utilize the fluid activation. For example, thecomputing entity 20-1 selects further widening the opening of the secondpiston bypass 38-2 to create less pressure in the front channel 26 toprovide an actual response of force versus piston velocity asillustrated in the graph of FIG. 8B at a time Y4 when the door shouldquickly open in avoid a collision with the object 12-2 (e.g., theperson).

Having determined the fluid activation, a ninth step of the examplemethod of operation includes the computing entity 20-1 activating theset of fluid manipulation emitters 114-1-1 and 114-1-2 with the fluidactivation 234-1-1 and 234-1-2 to manipulate the second shear thresholdeffect associated with the second piston bypass 38-2 (e.g., to decreaseshear force to move to the first range of shear rates such that theviscosity of the STF decreases to speed up the door as it opens ahead ofthe person).

The method described above in conjunction with a processing module ofany computing entity of the mechanical and computing system of FIG. 1can alternatively be performed by other modules of the system of FIG. 1or by other devices. In addition, at least one memory section that isnon-transitory (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage medium,a non-transitory computer readable memory organized into a first memoryelement, a second memory element, a third memory element, a fourthelement section, a fifth memory element, a sixth memory element, etc.)that stores operational instructions can, when executed by one or moreprocessing modules of the one or more computing entities of thecomputing system 10, cause one or more computing devices of themechanical and computing system of FIG. 1 to perform any or all of themethod steps described above.

FIGS. 9A-9B are schematic block diagrams of another embodiment of amechanical and computing system illustrating an example of controllingoperational aspects. The mechanical and computing system provides a headunit system that includes the head units 10-1 and 10-2 of FIG. 1 , theobject 12-1 (e.g., a first door), object 12-2 (e.g., a person), andobject 12-3 (e.g., a second door) of FIG. 1 , secondary object sensors(e.g., the environment sensor module 14 of FIG. 2B to detect theperson), and the computing entities 20-1 in 20-2 of FIG. 1 . Thesecondary object sensors are associated with their respective head unitsto detect a common object 12-2 moving between areas associated with theobject 12-1 in the object 12-2 (e.g., the person walking through thefirst door and then the second door).

In particular, each head unit (e.g., 10-1 and 10-2) for controllingmotion of the objects (e.g., 12-1 and 12-3) includes a chamber 16 filledat least in part with a shear thickening fluid (STF) 42. The chamberincludes a back channel 24 on an inward side of the piston 36 and afront channel 26 on the outward side of the piston 36. The head unitfurther includes a piston 36 housed at least partially radially withinthe chamber 16. The piston 36 is configured to exert pressure againstthe shear thickening fluid 42 in response to movement of the piston 36from a force applied to the piston 36 from the respective object.

The movement of the piston 36 includes one of traveling through thechamber 16 in an inward direction and traveling through the chamber 16in an outward direction. The STF is configured to have a decreasingviscosity in response to a first range of shear rates and an increasingviscosity in response to a second range of shear rates.

The piston 36 includes at least one piston bypass (e.g., a first pistonbypass 38-1 between opposite sides of the piston that controls flow ofthe STF between the opposite sides of the piston from the back channel24 to the front channel 26 when the piston is traveling through thechamber in the inward direction to cause the STF to react with a firstshear threshold effect). When including another piston bypass, thepiston 36 further includes a second piston bypass 38-2 between theopposite sides of the piston that controls flow of the STF between theopposite sides of the piston from the front channel 26 to the backchannel 24 when the piston is traveling through the chamber in theoutward direction to cause the STF to react with a second shearthreshold effect.

The head unit further includes a set of fluid flow sensors 116-1-1 and116-1-2 positioned proximal to the chamber 16 of the head unit 10-1. Theset of fluid flow sensors provide a fluid response from the STF 42. Thehead unit 10-1 further includes a set of fluid manipulation emitters114-1-1 and 114-1-2 proximal to the chamber 16. The set of fluidmanipulation emitters provide a fluid activation to at least one of theSTF 42, the first piston bypass 38-1, and the second piston bypass 38-2to control motion of the object 12-1 with regards to the secondaryobject 12-2.

FIG. 9A illustrates an example of operation of a method for thecontrolling the operational aspects. A first step of the example ofoperation includes the piston 36 moving inward towards the first headunit 10-1 in response to a force from the object 12-1 through theplunger 28 to cause compression of the STF 42 in the back channel 24.

A second step of the example method of operation includes the computingentity 20-1 interpreting a fluid flow response from the set of fluidflow sensors to produce a piston velocity 182, a piston position 184,and a shear force 186 as previously discussed. Having produced thepiston velocity, the piston position, and the shear force, a third stepof the example method of operation includes the computing entity 20-1interpreting an output of the secondary object sensor to produce aposition of the secondary object. For example, the computing entity 20-1interprets environment sensor information 150-1 from the environmentsensor module 14-1 to detect the object 12-2 (e.g., the person) within acommon area associated with the object 12-1 (e.g., the first door) asthe position of the secondary object.

Having detected the secondary object, a fourth step of the examplemethod of operation includes the computing entity 20-1 determining afluid activation for the head unit device based on identity of thesecondary object, the position of the secondary object, and one or moreof the piston velocity, the piston position, and the shear force whenfluid activation from the head unit 10-2 is unavailable. The determiningthe fluid activation includes determining a desired response aspreviously discussed for a variety of approaches. For example, thecomputing entity 20-1 determines to significantly increase the viscosityof the STF to affect a slow close of the door when the object 12-1includes the door that is about to close too fast based on identity ofthe object 12-2.

The determining the fluid activation further includes the computingentity 20-1 activating the set of fluid manipulation emitters 114-1-1and 114-1-2 with the fluid activation 234-1-1 and 234-1-2 to manipulatethe first shear threshold effect associated with the first piston bypass(e.g., to increase shear force to move to the second range of shearrates such that the viscosity of the STF increases to slow down thedoor). Alternatively, or in addition to, the head unit system furthermonitors the environment sensor module 14 to ensure that a collisiondoes not happen between the object 12-2 and the object 12-1 (e.g., whena cart is being pushed through a door opening to prevent the door fromhitting the cart).

Having determined and utilize the fluid activation, a fifth step of theexample method of operation includes the computing entity 20-1 issuing asystem message 162 to the computing entity 20-2 to affect optimizeoperation of the head unit 10-2 for the object 12-2 (e.g., as the personwalks from the first door to the second door). The issuing of the systemmessage 162 includes generating the system message 162 to include thefluid activation and one or more of the piston velocity, the pistonposition, and the sheer force as determined by the computing entity 20-1for the head unit 10-1. The issuing of the system message 162 furtherincludes sending the system message 162 to the computing entity 20-2.

FIG. 9B further illustrates the example of operation of the method forthe controlling the operational aspects. A sixth step of the examplemethod of operation includes obtaining another fluid activation foranother head unit device based on a previous position of the secondaryobject and one or more of a piston velocity and a piston position of theother head unit device. For instance, the computing entity 20-2interprets the system message 162 to extract the fluid activationutilized by the head unit 10-1 and identity of the object 12-2.

Having obtained the other fluid activation, the example method ofoperation includes the computing entity 20-2 detecting the secondaryobject. For example, the computing entity 20-1 interprets environmentsensor information 150-2 from the environment sensor module 14-2 toidentify the object 12-2 has moved to a common area associated with theobject 12-3.

An eight step of the example method of operation includes the piston 36of the head unit 10-2 moving inward away towards the head unit 10-2 inresponse to a force from the object 12-3 through the plunger 28 to causecompression of the STF 42 in the front channel 26 (e.g., opening of thedoor).

A ninth step of the example method of operation includes the computingentity 20-2 further interpreting a fluid flow response from the set offluid flow sensors of the head unit 10-2 to produce the piston velocity182, the piston position 184, and the shear force 186 as previouslydiscussed. For instance, the computing entity 20-2 receives a fluidresponse 232-2-1 from sensor 116-2-1.

Having produced the piston velocity, the piston position, and the shearforce, a tenth step of the example method of operation includes thecomputing entity 20-2 determining a fluid activation for the head unitdevice 10-2 based the position for the object 12-2, and based on one ormore of the piston velocity, the piston position, and the shear force ofthe head unit 10-2. The determining the fluid activation includesdetermining a desired response. For example, the computing entity 20-2determines to significantly decrease the viscosity of the STF to affecta faster opening of the door when the object 12-3 includes the seconddoor that is about to open too slowly and collide with the object 12-2.

The determining the fluid activation further includes selecting the typeof activation to utilize the fluid activation. For example, thecomputing entity 20-1 selects further widening the opening of the firstpiston bypass 38-1 of the head unit 10-2 to create less pressure in theback channel 24 to provide an actual response opening the second doormore quickly to avoid a collision with the object 12-2 (e.g., theperson).

The tenth step further includes the computing entity 20-2 activating theset of fluid manipulation emitters 114-2-1 and 114-2-2 with the fluidactivation 234-2-1 and 234-2-2 to manipulate the first shear thresholdeffect associated with the first piston bypass 38-1 (e.g., to decreaseshear force to move to the first range of shear rates such that theviscosity of the STF decreases to speed up the door as it opens ahead ofthe person).

The method described above in conjunction with a processing module ofany computing entity of the mechanical and computing system of FIG. 1can alternatively be performed by other modules of the system of FIG. 1or by other devices. In addition, at least one memory section that isnon-transitory (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage medium,a non-transitory computer readable memory organized into a first memoryelement, a second memory element, a third memory element, a fourthelement section, a fifth memory element, a sixth memory element, etc.)that stores operational instructions can, when executed by one or moreprocessing modules of the one or more computing entities of thecomputing system 10, cause one or more computing devices of themechanical and computing system of FIG. 1 to perform any or all of themethod steps described above.

It is noted that terminologies as may be used herein such as bit stream,stream, signal sequence, etc. (or their equivalents) have been usedinterchangeably to describe digital information whose contentcorresponds to any of a number of desired types (e.g., data, video,speech, text, graphics, audio, etc. any of which may generally bereferred to as ‘data’).

As may be used herein, the terms “substantially” and “approximately”provides an industry-accepted tolerance for its corresponding termand/or relativity between items. For some industries, anindustry-accepted tolerance is less than one percent and, for otherindustries, the industry-accepted tolerance is 10 percent or more. Otherexamples of industry-accepted tolerance range from less than one percentto fifty percent. Industry-accepted tolerances correspond to, but arenot limited to, component values, integrated circuit process variations,temperature variations, rise and fall times, thermal noise, dimensions,signaling errors, dropped packets, temperatures, pressures, materialcompositions, and/or performance metrics. Within an industry, tolerancevariances of accepted tolerances may be more or less than a percentagelevel (e.g., dimension tolerance of less than +/- 1%). Some relativitybetween items may range from a difference of less than a percentagelevel to a few percent. Other relativity between items may range from adifference of a few percent to magnitude of differences.

As may also be used herein, the term(s) “configured to”, “operablycoupled to”, “coupled to”, and/or “coupling” includes direct couplingbetween items and/or indirect coupling between items via an interveningitem (e.g., an item includes, but is not limited to, a component, anelement, a circuit, and/or a module) where, for an example of indirectcoupling, the intervening item does not modify the information of asignal but may adjust its current level, voltage level, and/or powerlevel. As may further be used herein, inferred coupling (i.e., where oneelement is coupled to another element by inference) includes direct andindirect coupling between two items in the same manner as “coupled to”.

As may even further be used herein, the term “configured to”, “operableto”, “coupled to”, or “operably coupled to” indicates that an itemincludes one or more of power connections, input(s), output(s), etc., toperform, when activated, one or more its corresponding functions and mayfurther include inferred coupling to one or more other items. As maystill further be used herein, the term “associated with”, includesdirect and/or indirect coupling of separate items and/or one item beingembedded within another item.

As may be used herein, the term “compares favorably”, indicates that acomparison between two or more items, signals, etc., provides a desiredrelationship. For example, when the desired relationship is that signal1 has a greater magnitude than signal 2, a favorable comparison may beachieved when the magnitude of signal 1 is greater than that of signal 2or when the magnitude of signal 2 is less than that of signal 1. As maybe used herein, the term “compares unfavorably”, indicates that acomparison between two or more items, signals, etc., fails to providethe desired relationship.

As may be used herein, one or more claims may include, in a specificform of this generic form, the phrase “at least one of a, b, and c” orof this generic form “at least one of a, b, or c”, with more or lesselements than “a”, “b”, and “c”. In either phrasing, the phrases are tobe interpreted identically. In particular, “at least one of a, b, and c”is equivalent to “at least one of a, b, or c” and shall mean a, b,and/or c. As an example, it means: “a” only, “b” only, “c” only, “a” and“b”, “a” and “c”, “b” and “c”, and/or “a”, “b”, and “c”.

As may also be used herein, the terms “processing module”, “processingcircuit”, “processor”, “processing circuitry”, and/or “processing unit”may be a single processing device or a plurality of processing devices.Such a processing device may be a microprocessor, micro-controller,digital signal processor, microcomputer, central processing unit, fieldprogrammable gate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logiccircuitry, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device thatmanipulates signals (analog and/or digital) based on hard coding of thecircuitry and/or operational instructions. The processing module,module, processing circuit, processing circuitry, and/or processing unitmay be, or further include, memory and/or an integrated memory element,which may be a single memory device, a plurality of memory devices,and/or embedded circuitry of another processing module, module,processing circuit, processing circuitry, and/or processing unit. Such amemory device may be a read-only memory, random access memory, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, static memory, dynamic memory, flashmemory, cache memory, and/or any device that stores digital information.Note that if the processing module, module, processing circuit,processing circuitry, and/or processing unit includes more than oneprocessing device, the processing devices may be centrally located(e.g., directly coupled together via a wired and/or wireless busstructure) or may be distributedly located (e.g., cloud computing viaindirect coupling via a local area network and/or a wide area network).Further note that if the processing module, module, processing circuit,processing circuitry and/or processing unit implements one or more ofits functions via a state machine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry,and/or logic circuitry, the memory and/or memory element storing thecorresponding operational instructions may be embedded within, orexternal to, the circuitry comprising the state machine, analogcircuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logic circuitry. Still further notethat, the memory element may store, and the processing module, module,processing circuit, processing circuitry and/or processing unitexecutes, hard coded and/or operational instructions corresponding to atleast some of the steps and/or functions illustrated in one or more ofthe Figures. Such a memory device or memory element can be included inan article of manufacture.

One or more embodiments have been described above with the aid of methodsteps illustrating the performance of specified functions andrelationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functionalbuilding blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined hereinfor convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences canbe defined so long as the specified functions and relationships areappropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences arethus within the scope and spirit of the claims. Further, the boundariesof these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined forconvenience of description. Alternate boundaries could be defined aslong as the certain significant functions are appropriately performed.Similarly, flow diagram blocks may also have been arbitrarily definedherein to illustrate certain significant functionality.

To the extent used, the flow diagram block boundaries and sequence couldhave been defined otherwise and still perform the certain significantfunctionality. Such alternate definitions of both functional buildingblocks and flow diagram blocks and sequences are thus within the scopeand spirit of the claims. One of average skill in the art will alsorecognize that the functional building blocks, and other illustrativeblocks, modules, and components herein, can be implemented asillustrated or by discrete components, application specific integratedcircuits, processors executing appropriate software and the like or anycombination thereof.

In addition, a flow diagram may include a “start” and/or “continue”indication. The “start” and “continue” indications reflect that thesteps presented can optionally be incorporated in or otherwise used inconjunction with one or more other routines. In addition, a flow diagrammay include an “end” and/or “continue” indication. The “end” and/or“continue” indications reflect that the steps presented can end asdescribed and shown or optionally be incorporated in or otherwise usedin conjunction with one or more other routines. In this context, “start”indicates the beginning of the first step presented and may be precededby other activities not specifically shown. Further, the “continue”indication reflects that the steps presented may be performed multipletimes and/or may be succeeded by other activities not specificallyshown. Further, while a flow diagram indicates a particular ordering ofsteps, other orderings are likewise possible provided that theprinciples of causality are maintained.

The one or more embodiments are used herein to illustrate one or moreaspects, one or more features, one or more concepts, and/or one or moreexamples. A physical embodiment of an apparatus, an article ofmanufacture, a machine, and/or of a process may include one or more ofthe aspects, features, concepts, examples, etc. described with referenceto one or more of the embodiments discussed herein. Further, from figureto figure, the embodiments may incorporate the same or similarly namedfunctions, steps, modules, etc. that may use the same or differentreference numbers and, as such, the functions, steps, modules, etc. maybe the same or similar functions, steps, modules, etc. or differentones.

Unless specifically stated to the contra, signals to, from, and/orbetween elements in a figure of any of the figures presented herein maybe analog or digital, continuous time or discrete time, and single-endedor differential. For instance, if a signal path is shown as asingle-ended path, it also represents a differential signal path.Similarly, if a signal path is shown as a differential path, it alsorepresents a single-ended signal path. While one or more particulararchitectures are described herein, other architectures can likewise beimplemented that use one or more data buses not expressly shown, directconnectivity between elements, and/or indirect coupling between otherelements as recognized by one of average skill in the art.

The term “module” is used in the description of one or more of theembodiments. A module implements one or more functions via a device suchas a processor or other processing device or other hardware that mayinclude or operate in association with a memory that stores operationalinstructions. A module may operate independently and/or in conjunctionwith software and/or firmware. As also used herein, a module may containone or more sub-modules, each of which may be one or more modules.

As may further be used herein, a computer readable memory includes oneor more memory elements. A memory element may be a separate memorydevice, multiple memory devices, or a set of memory locations within amemory device. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory, randomaccess memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, static memory,dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory, a quantum register or otherquantum memory and/or any other device that stores data in anon-transitory manner. Furthermore, the memory device may be in a formof a solid-state memory, a hard drive memory or other disk storage,cloud memory, thumb drive, server memory, computing device memory,and/or other non-transitory medium for storing data. The storage of dataincludes temporary storage (i.e., data is lost when power is removedfrom the memory element) and/or persistent storage (i.e., data isretained when power is removed from the memory element). As used herein,a transitory medium shall mean one or more of: (a) a wired or wirelessmedium for the transportation of data as a signal from one computingdevice to another computing device for temporary storage or persistentstorage; (b) a wired or wireless medium for the transportation of dataas a signal within a computing device from one element of the computingdevice to another element of the computing device for temporary storageor persistent storage; (c) a wired or wireless medium for thetransportation of data as a signal from one computing device to anothercomputing device for processing the data by the other computing device;and (d) a wired or wireless medium for the transportation of data as asignal within a computing device from one element of the computingdevice to another element of the computing device for processing thedata by the other element of the computing device. As may be usedherein, a non-transitory computer readable memory is substantiallyequivalent to a computer readable memory. A non-transitory computerreadable memory can also be referred to as a non-transitory computerreadable storage medium.

While particular combinations of various functions and features of theone or more embodiments have been expressly described herein, othercombinations of these features and functions are likewise possible. Thepresent disclosure is not limited by the particular examples disclosedherein and expressly incorporates these other combinations.

What is claimed is:
 1. A head unit system for controlling motion of anobject, comprising: a secondary object sensor, wherein a secondaryobject is associated with the object; and a head unit device, whereinthe head unit device includes: shear thickening fluid (STF), wherein theSTF is configured to have a decreasing viscosity in response to a firstrange of shear rates and an increasing viscosity in response to a secondrange of shear rates, wherein the second range of shear rates aregreater than the first range of shear rates; a chamber, the chamberconfigured to contain a portion of the STF, wherein the chamber includesa front channel and a back channel; a piston housed at least partiallyradially within the chamber and separating the back channel and thefront channel, the piston configured to exert pressure against the shearthickening fluid in response to movement of the piston from a forceapplied to the piston from the object, wherein the movement of thepiston includes one of traveling through the chamber in an inwarddirection or traveling through the chamber in an outward direction,wherein the piston travels toward the back channel and away from thefront channel when traveling in the inward direction, wherein the pistontravels toward the front channel and away from the back channel whentraveling in the outward direction, wherein the piston includes: a firstpiston bypass between opposite sides of the piston that controls flow ofthe STF between the opposite sides of the piston from the back channelto the front channel when the piston is traveling through the chamber inthe inward direction to cause the STF to react with a first shearthreshold effect, and a second piston bypass between the opposite sidesof the piston that controls flow of the STF between the opposite sidesof the piston from the front channel to the back channel when the pistonis traveling through the chamber in the outward direction to cause theSTF to react with a second shear threshold effect; a set of fluid flowsensors positioned proximal to the chamber, wherein the set of fluidflow sensors provide a fluid response from the STF; and a set of fluidmanipulation emitters positioned proximal to the chamber, wherein theset of fluid manipulation emitters provide a fluid activation to atleast one of the STF, the first piston bypass, and the second pistonbypass to control the motion of the object with regards to the secondaryobject.
 2. The head unit system of claim 1, wherein the head unit devicefurther comprises: a plunger between the object and the piston, theplunger configured to apply the force from the object to move the pistonwithin the chamber; and a plunger bushing to guide the plunger into thechamber in response to the force from the object, wherein the plungerbushing facilitates containment of the STF within the chamber, whereinthe plunger bushing remains in a fixed position relative to the chamberwhen the force from the object moves the piston within the chamber. 3.The head unit system of claim 1, wherein the STF comprises: a pluralityof nanoparticles, wherein the plurality of nanoparticles includes one ormore of an oxide, calcium carbonate, synthetically occurring minerals,naturally occurring minerals, polymers, SiO2, polystyrene,polymethylmethacrylate, or a mixture thereof; and one or more ofethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, ethanol, silicon oils,phenyltrimethicone, or a mixture thereof.
 4. The head unit system ofclaim 1, wherein the head unit device further comprises: a chamberbypass between opposite ends of the chamber, wherein the chamber bypassfacilitates flow of a portion of the STF between the opposite ends ofthe chamber when the piston travels through the chamber in the inward orthe outward direction.
 5. The head unit device of claim 1, wherein thehead unit device further comprises: when the piston is traveling throughthe chamber in the inward direction the first shear threshold effectincludes: the first range of shear rates when the STF is configured tohave the decreasing viscosity, and the second range of shear rates whenthe STF is configured to have the increasing viscosity; and when thepiston is traveling through the chamber in the outward direction thesecond shear threshold effect includes: the first range of shear rateswhen the STF is configured to have the decreasing viscosity, and thesecond range of shear rates when the STF is configured to have theincreasing viscosity.
 6. The head unit system of claim 1, wherein thefirst piston bypass comprises: one or more of a one-way check valve anda variable flow valve; when the piston is traveling through the chamberin the inward direction: a first setting of the variable flow valvefacilitates the first range of shear rates when the STF is to have thedecreasing viscosity, and a second setting of the variable flow valvefacilitates the second range of shear rates when the STF is to have theincreasing viscosity; and when the piston is traveling through thechamber in the outward direction: the one-way check valve prevents STFflow through the first piston bypass.
 7. The head unit system of claim1, wherein the second piston bypass comprises: one or more of a one-waycheck valve and a variable flow valve; when the piston is travelingthrough the chamber in the inward direction: the one-way check valveprevents STF flow through the second piston bypass; and when the pistonis traveling through the chamber in the outward direction: a firstsetting of the variable flow valve facilitates the first range of shearrates when the STF is to have the decreasing viscosity, and a secondsetting of the variable flow valve facilitates the second range of shearrates when the STF is to have the increasing viscosity.
 8. The head unitdevice of claim 1, wherein the set of fluid flow sensors comprises oneor more of: a valve opening detector associated with one or more of thefirst piston bypass and the second piston bypass, a mechanical positionsensor, an image sensor, a light sensor, an audio sensor, a microphone,an ultrasonic sound sensor, an electric field sensor, a magnetic fieldsensor, and a radio frequency wireless field sensor.
 9. The head unitdevice of claim 1, wherein the set of fluid manipulation emitterscomprises one or more of: a variable flow valve associated with one ormore of the first piston bypass and the second piston bypass, amechanical vibration generator, an image generator, a light emitter, anaudio transducer, a speaker, an ultrasonic sound transducer, an electricfield generator, a magnetic field generator, and a radio frequencywireless field transmitter.
 10. A method for execution by a computingdevice, the method comprises: interpreting a fluid response from a setof fluid flow sensors to produce a piston velocity and a piston positionof a piston associated with a head unit device of a head unit system,wherein the set of fluid flow sensors are positioned proximal to thehead unit device for controlling motion of an object with regards to asecondary object, wherein the head unit system includes: a secondaryobject sensor, wherein the secondary object is associated with theobject, and the head unit device, wherein the head unit device includes:shear thickening fluid (STF), wherein the STF is configured to have adecreasing viscosity in response to a first range of shear rates and anincreasing viscosity in response to a second range of shear rates,wherein the second range of shear rates are greater than the first rangeof shear rates, a chamber, the chamber configured to contain a portionof the STF, wherein the chamber includes a front channel and a backchannel, a piston housed at least partially radially within the chamberand separating the back channel and the front channel, the pistonconfigured to exert pressure against the shear thickening fluid inresponse to movement of the piston from a force applied to the pistonfrom the object, wherein the movement of the piston includes one oftraveling through the chamber in an inward direction or travelingthrough the chamber in an outward direction, wherein the piston travelstoward the back channel and away from the front channel when travelingin the inward direction, wherein the piston travels toward the frontchannel and away from the back channel when traveling in the outwarddirection, wherein the piston includes: a first piston bypass betweenopposite sides of the piston that controls flow of the STF between theopposite sides of the piston from the back channel to the front channelwhen the piston is traveling through the chamber in the inward directionto cause the STF to react with a first shear threshold effect, and asecond piston bypass between the opposite sides of the piston thatcontrols flow of the STF between the opposite sides of the piston fromthe front channel to the back channel when the piston is travelingthrough the chamber in the outward direction to cause the STF to reactwith a second shear threshold effect, the set of fluid flow sensorspositioned proximal to the chamber, wherein the set of fluid flowsensors provide the fluid response from the STF, and a set of fluidmanipulation emitters positioned proximal to the chamber, wherein theset of fluid manipulation emitters provide a fluid activation to atleast one of the STF, the first piston bypass, and the second pistonbypass to control the motion of the object with regards to the secondaryobject; interpreting an output of the secondary object sensor to producea position of the secondary object; determining the fluid activation forthe head unit device based on the position of the secondary object andone or more of the piston velocity and the piston position; andactivating the set of fluid manipulation emitters in accordance with thefluid activation to manipulate one of the first shear threshold effectassociated with the first piston bypass and the second shear thresholdeffect associated with the second piston bypass to control the motion ofthe object with regards to the secondary object.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein the interpreting the fluid response from the set of fluidflow sensors to produce the piston velocity and the piston position ofthe piston comprises: inputting, from one or more fluid flow sensors ofthe set of fluid flow sensors, a set of fluid flow signals over a timerange; determining the fluid response of the set of fluid flow sensorsbased on the set of fluid flow signals; determining the piston velocitybased on the fluid response of the set of fluid flow sensors over thetime range; and determining the piston position based on the pistonvelocity and a real-time reference.
 12. The method of claim 10, whereinthe interpreting the output of the secondary object sensor to producethe position of the secondary object comprises one or more of:interpreting environmental sensor information to confirm that thesecondary object is proximal to the object; determining a velocityvector for the secondary object based on environmental sensorinformation over an observation timeframe; and interpreting the velocityvector for the secondary object to produce the position of the secondaryobj ect.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the determining the fluidactivation for the head unit device based on the position of thesecondary object and one or more of the piston velocity and the pistonposition comprises one or more of: determining an object position forthe object based on the piston velocity and the piston position;interpreting a request associated with modifying one or more of objectvelocity and object position; interpreting guidance from a chamberdatabase; establishing the fluid activation to include facilitating thefirst range of shear rates to speed up the object when detecting that adistance between the object and the secondary object is less than aminimum distance threshold based on the object position and the positionof the secondary object and when the secondary object is moving closerto the object; establishing the fluid activation to include facilitatingthe first range of shear rates to speed up the object when detectingthat the distance between the object and the secondary object is greaterthan a maximum distance threshold based on the object position and theposition of the secondary object and when the secondary object is movingaway from the object; establishing the fluid activation to includefacilitating the second range of shear rates to slow down the objectwhen detecting that the distance between the object and the secondaryobject is greater than the maximum distance threshold based on theobject position and the position of the secondary object and when thesecondary object is moving closer to the object; establishing the fluidactivation to include facilitating the second range of shear rates toslow down the object when detecting that the distance between the objectand the secondary object is less than the minimum distance thresholdbased on the object position and the position of the secondary objectand when the secondary object is moving away from the object;establishing the fluid activation to include facilitating the secondrange of shear rates to slow down the object when detecting that avelocity difference between the piston velocity and a velocity of thesecondary object is greater than a maximum velocity differencethreshold, the piston velocity is greater than the velocity of thesecondary object, and the secondary object is moving towards the object;establishing the fluid activation to include facilitating the secondrange of shear rates to slow down the object when detecting that thevelocity difference between the piston velocity and the velocity of thesecondary object is less than a minimum velocity difference threshold,the piston velocity is greater than the velocity of the secondaryobject, and the secondary object is moving away from the object;establishing the fluid activation to include facilitating the firstrange of shear rates to speed up the object when detecting that thevelocity difference between the piston velocity and the velocity of thesecondary object is greater than the maximum velocity differencethreshold, the piston velocity is less than the velocity of thesecondary object, and the secondary object is moving towards the object;establishing the fluid activation to include facilitating the firstrange of shear rates to speed up the object when detecting that thevelocity difference between the piston velocity and the velocity of thesecondary object is less than the minimum velocity difference threshold,the piston velocity is less than the velocity of the secondary object,and the secondary object is moving away from the object; and detectingan environmental condition warranting a change in viscosity of the STF.14. The method of claim 10, wherein the activating the set of fluidmanipulation emitters in accordance with the fluid activation tomanipulate one of the first shear threshold effect associated with thefirst piston bypass and the second shear threshold effect associatedwith the second piston bypass to control the motion of the object withregards to the secondary object comprises: when the piston is travelingthrough the chamber in the inward direction: issuing the fluidactivation to the set of fluid manipulation emitters to cause the firstpiston bypass to facilitate the first shear threshold effect to includethe first range of shear rates when the STF is to have the decreasingviscosity, and issuing the fluid activation to the set of fluidmanipulation emitters to cause the first piston bypass to facilitate thefirst shear threshold effect to include the second range of shear rateswhen the STF is to have the increasing viscosity; and when the piston istraveling through the chamber in the outward direction: issuing thefluid activation to the set of fluid manipulation emitters to cause thesecond piston bypass to facilitate the second shear threshold effect toinclude the first range of shear rates when the STF is to have thedecreasing viscosity, and issuing the fluid activation to the set offluid manipulation emitters to cause the second piston bypass tofacilitate the second shear threshold effect to include the second rangeof shear rates when the STF is to have the increasing viscosity.
 15. Anon-transitory computer readable memory comprises: a first memoryelement that stores operational instructions that, when executed by aprocessing module, causes the processing module to: interpret a fluidresponse from a set of fluid flow sensors to produce a piston velocityand a piston position of a piston associated with a head unit device ofa head unit system, wherein the set of fluid flow sensors are positionedproximal to the head unit device for controlling motion of an objectwith regards to a secondary object, wherein the head unit systemincludes: a secondary object sensor, wherein the secondary object isassociated with the object, and the head unit device, wherein the headunit device includes: shear thickening fluid (STF), wherein the STF isconfigured to have a decreasing viscosity in response to a first rangeof shear rates and an increasing viscosity in response to a second rangeof shear rates, wherein the second range of shear rates are greater thanthe first range of shear rates, a chamber, the chamber configured tocontain a portion of the STF, wherein the chamber includes a frontchannel and a back channel, a piston housed at least partially radiallywithin the chamber and separating the back channel and the frontchannel, the piston configured to exert pressure against the shearthickening fluid in response to movement of the piston from a forceapplied to the piston from the object, wherein the movement of thepiston includes one of traveling through the chamber in an inwarddirection or traveling through the chamber in an outward direction,wherein the piston travels toward the back channel and away from thefront channel when traveling in the inward direction, wherein the pistontravels toward the front channel and away from the back channel whentraveling in the outward direction, wherein the piston includes:  afirst piston bypass between opposite sides of the piston that controlsflow of the STF between the opposite sides of the piston from the backchannel to the front channel when the piston is traveling through thechamber in the inward direction to cause the STF to react with a firstshear threshold effect, and  a second piston bypass between the oppositesides of the piston that controls flow of the STF between the oppositesides of the piston from the front channel to the back channel when thepiston is traveling through the chamber in the outward direction tocause the STF to react with a second shear threshold effect, the set offluid flow sensors positioned proximal to the chamber, wherein the setof fluid flow sensors provide the fluid response from the STF, and a setof fluid manipulation emitters positioned proximal to the chamber,wherein the set of fluid manipulation emitters provide a fluidactivation to at least one of the STF, the first piston bypass, and thesecond piston bypass to control the motion of the object with regards tothe secondary object; a second memory element that stores operationalinstructions that, when executed by the processing module, causes theprocessing module to: interpret an output of the secondary object sensorto produce a position of the secondary object; a third memory elementthat stores operational instructions that, when executed by theprocessing module, causes the processing module to: determine the fluidactivation for the head unit device based on the position of thesecondary object and one or more of the piston velocity and the pistonposition; and a fourth memory element that stores operationalinstructions that, when executed by the processing module, causes theprocessing module to: activate the set of fluid manipulation emitters inaccordance with the fluid activation to manipulate one of the firstshear threshold effect associated with the first piston bypass and thesecond shear threshold effect associated with the second piston bypassto control the motion of the object with regards to the secondaryobject.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 15,wherein the processing module performs functions to execute theoperational instructions stored by the first memory element to cause theprocessing module to interpret the fluid response from the set of fluidflow sensors to produce the piston velocity and the piston position ofthe piston by: inputting, from one or more fluid flow sensors of the setof fluid flow sensors, a set of fluid flow signals over a time range;determining the fluid response of the set of fluid flow sensors based onthe set of fluid flow signals; determining the piston velocity based onthe fluid response of the set of fluid flow sensors over the time range;and determining the piston position based on the piston velocity and areal-time reference.
 17. The non-transitory computer readable memory ofclaim 15, wherein the processing module performs functions to executethe operational instructions stored by the second memory element tocause the processing module to interpret the output of the secondaryobject sensor to produce the position of the secondary object by one ormore of: interpreting environmental sensor information to confirm thatthe secondary object is proximal to the object; determining a velocityvector for the secondary object based on environmental sensorinformation over an observation timeframe; and interpreting the velocityvector for the secondary object to produce the position of the secondaryobj ect.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable memory of claim 15,wherein the processing module performs functions to execute theoperational instructions stored by the third memory element to cause theprocessing module to determine the fluid activation for the head unitdevice based on the position of the secondary object and one or more ofthe piston velocity and the piston position by one or more of:determining an object position for the object based on the pistonvelocity and the piston position; interpreting a request associated withmodifying one or more of object velocity and object position;interpreting guidance from a chamber database; establishing the fluidactivation to include facilitating the first range of shear rates tospeed up the object when detecting that a distance between the objectand the secondary object is less than a minimum distance threshold basedon the object position and the position of the secondary object and whenthe secondary object is moving closer to the object; establishing thefluid activation to include facilitating the first range of shear ratesto speed up the object when detecting that the distance between theobject and the secondary object is greater than a maximum distancethreshold based on the object position and the position of the secondaryobject and when the secondary object is moving away from the object;establishing the fluid activation to include facilitating the secondrange of shear rates to slow down the object when detecting that thedistance between the object and the secondary object is greater than themaximum distance threshold based on the object position and the positionof the secondary object and when the secondary object is moving closerto the object; establishing the fluid activation to include facilitatingthe second range of shear rates to slow down the object when detectingthat the distance between the object and the secondary object is lessthan the minimum distance threshold based on the object position and theposition of the secondary object and when the secondary object is movingaway from the object; establishing the fluid activation to includefacilitating the second range of shear rates to slow down the objectwhen detecting that a velocity difference between the piston velocityand a velocity of the secondary object is greater than a maximumvelocity difference threshold, the piston velocity is greater than thevelocity of the secondary object, and the secondary object is movingtowards the object; establishing the fluid activation to includefacilitating the second range of shear rates to slow down the objectwhen detecting that the velocity difference between the piston velocityand the velocity of the secondary object is less than a minimum velocitydifference threshold, the piston velocity is greater than the velocityof the secondary object, and the secondary object is moving away fromthe object; establishing the fluid activation to include facilitatingthe first range of shear rates to speed up the object when detectingthat the velocity difference between the piston velocity and thevelocity of the secondary object is greater than the maximum velocitydifference threshold, the piston velocity is less than the velocity ofthe secondary object, and the secondary object is moving towards theobject; establishing the fluid activation to include facilitating thefirst range of shear rates to speed up the object when detecting thatthe velocity difference between the piston velocity and the velocity ofthe secondary object is less than the minimum velocity differencethreshold, the piston velocity is less than the velocity of thesecondary object, and the secondary object is moving away from theobject; and detecting an environmental condition warranting a change inviscosity of the STF.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable memory ofclaim 15, wherein the processing module performs functions to executethe operational instructions stored by the fourth memory element tocause the processing module to activate the set of fluid manipulationemitters in accordance with the fluid activation to manipulate one ofthe first shear threshold effect associated with the first piston bypassand the second shear threshold effect associated with the second pistonbypass to control the motion of the object with regards to the secondaryobject by: when the piston is traveling through the chamber in theinward direction: issuing the fluid activation to the set of fluidmanipulation emitters to cause the first piston bypass to facilitate thefirst shear threshold effect to include the first range of shear rateswhen the STF is to have the decreasing viscosity, and issuing the fluidactivation to the set of fluid manipulation emitters to cause the firstpiston bypass to facilitate the first shear threshold effect to includethe second range of shear rates when the STF is to have the increasingviscosity; and when the piston is traveling through the chamber in theoutward direction: issuing the fluid activation to the set of fluidmanipulation emitters to cause the second piston bypass to facilitatethe second shear threshold effect to include the first range of shearrates when the STF is to have the decreasing viscosity, and issuing thefluid activation to the set of fluid manipulation emitters to cause thesecond piston bypass to facilitate the second shear threshold effect toinclude the second range of shear rates when the STF is to have theincreasing viscosity.